In cab wifi hotspot

[CallMeChris]

Who uses it and what am I missing? Why would I want WiFi in my truck since I can turn my phone into a hotspot the few times a year I might need it. Looks like it is through AT&T who is who I have my phone through. Would it lose service less often or give me service better than I have?

 

[elephantrider]

I had a hot spot in my 4 door for a while to see what the fuss was about. I never really got it. I have hot spot capability in my phone, so maybe that's why I don't see the value.

 

[Gondul]

Just a way to not tie up your phone/battery/bandwidth for other people in the car...
Generally no throttling (depends on vendor)
More consistent signal strength/quality
You can usually connect more devices than with your phone
Depending on vendor, it is either a pay as you go, or a monthly plan

If you (or family members) aren't heavy users, it isn't beneficial.

 

[RV_Goose]

I looked at that when buying. Basically, it is needed if you use the other apps and options on the Uconnect. Like Sirius maps and traffic. Once you add in the vehicle hotspot, and few other apps, the expenses add up. Trying to remember, but those apps added up to another $500 annual fees. And none of this apps are suitable for routing a 13'6" tall, 55' long, 21k pound rig.

But most people do not need that. And perhaps those with kids would benefit most from it?

 

[kristof]

I looked at that when buying. Basically, it is needed if you use the other apps and options on the Uconnect. Like Sirius maps and traffic. Once you add in the vehicle hotspot, and few other apps, the expenses add up. Trying to remember, but those apps added up to another $500 annual fees. And none of this apps are suitable for routing a 13'6" tall, 55' long, 21k pound rig.

But most people do not need that. And perhaps those with kids would benefit most from it?

I have 3 kids and all 3 connect to my phone hotspot no problems. I don't see why you would like to have a wifi from them. Unless you want to leave your kids in the car and take the phone with you.

 

[jsalbre]

I looked at that when buying. Basically, it is needed if you use the other apps and options on the Uconnect. Like Sirius maps and traffic. Once you add in the vehicle hotspot, and few other apps, the expenses add up. Trying to remember, but those apps added up to another $500 annual fees. And none of this apps are suitable for routing a 13'6" tall, 55' long, 21k pound rig.

But most people do not need that. And perhaps those with kids would benefit most from it?

SiriusXM Traffic and other data (TravelLink) comes over satellite, not the cellular network. The hotspot feature is only for use by your own external devices (phones, tablets, laptops, etc.).

 

[Brutal_HO]

SiriusXM Traffic and other data (TravelLink) comes over satellite, not the cellular network. The hotspot feature is only for use by your own external devices (phones, tablets, laptops, etc.).

If you turn on WiFi, SiriusXM music comes over the WiFi first, then (agonizingly slow) fails over to satellite if no Intarwebz. I rue the day I enabled my free trial and can't wait for it to stop.

 

[jsalbre]

Strange, mine didn’t do that on the trial. Before the trial and after (now) mine goes satellite first, and then will ask if I want to switch to streaming if the satellite signal is bad, or if I ask it to create a SiriusXM360 (Pandora) station.

 

[Jimmy07]

If you turn on WiFi, SiriusXM music comes over the WiFi first, then (agonizingly slow) fails over to satellite if no Intarwebz. I rue the day I enabled my free trial and can't wait for it to stop.

Hmmm...mines the other way around. Via satellite first, then, if the signal is lost consistently long enough, it’ll ask if I want to stream over WiFi.

 

[Brutal_HO]

Hmmm...mines the other way around. Via satellite first, then, if the signal is lost consistently long enough, it’ll ask if I want to stream over WiFi.

Yea, odd. I seem to recall seeing something about WiFi streaming being higher quality than Sat so it had priority.

Radio version?

I'm still 19.43.1a (12") same as I was when I got it in March.

Honestly, I'm not sure why I even bothered enabling it as we both have unlimited data on our 4G phones and can use hotspot tethering if needed. I also have a MiFi for work use.

It runs out 10-12-20 anyway, so for now it's just an annoyance.

 

[Jimmy07]

Yea, odd. I seem to recall seeing something about WiFi streaming being higher quality than Sat so it had priority.

Radio version?

I'm still 19.43.1a (12") same as I was when I got it in March.

Honestly, I'm not sure why I even bothered enabling it as we both have unlimited data on our 4G phones and can use hotspot tethering if needed. I also have a MiFi for work use.

It runs out 10-12-20 anyway, so for now it's just an annoyance.

I’m on 20.04.19 on a 12” transplanted into my 2017. I would also not bother with WiFi if wasn’t for the fact my radio was pulled from a brand new junkyard profit share truck, so the radio is in demo mode. WiFi and all Sirius services are active without any of my info, so who knows how long it’ll let me run around with them active.

 

[Distillusion]

I stream from my phone. Using Bluetooth through the Uconnect media menu. I tried out the satellite free subscription with my first Uconnect 4 back in 2015. No advantage to using it, at least for me. Cell phone has hotspot capability, streaming, higher bandwidth than Uconnect supports, and I have 60GB of music stored on the phone. And it's cheaper.

 

[jpidgie]

Not exactly a specific answer, but I had a Linksys AP in an older truck that allowed my kids to connect their wireless devices together so they could play games against each other. Also fun to name the SSID as "FBI Surveillance Vehicle 43" - got lots of looks from that!

 

[Brutal_HO]

Not exactly a specific answer, but I had a Linksys AP in an older truck that allowed my kids to connect their wireless devices together so they could play games against each other. Also fun to name the SSID as "FBI Surveillance Vehicle 43" - got lots of looks from that!

LOLTrumpIsStillYourPresident causes a lot of hand wringing.

 

[Distillusion]

My home wifi SSID is " ──┼─╫─┼── "

The neighbors wonder what the heck it is but they don't know it's mine and they avoid trying to mess with it. The password is 50 random characters. It's so annoying to type that I dumped it into a QR code.

 

[jambram]

Does anyone know how long the 3-month Free WifiHot spot Trial offer is valid after you purchase a truck? I was thinking of waiting until May to activate the free trial because we travel a lot more in the summer.

 

[Brutal_HO]

My home wifi SSID is " ──┼─╫─┼── "

The neighbors wonder what the heck it is but they don't know it's mine and they avoid trying to mess with it. The password is 50 random characters. It's so annoying to type that I dumped it into a QR code.

 

[jeffjcalweb]

$20/month unlimited data is pretty cheap. I keep my mobile plans pretty minimal with data plan, so having the truck wifi is by far cheaper then multiple phones with high data plans. so now my daughter can connect to truck wifi for whatever the heck she is doing on her phone, i can stream music from amazon off my phone, and my wife can stream netflix on her phone all connected. for $20 a month it is a way better deal than having 3 mobile high data plans. And while it's not great/perfect - none are - ATT is pretty much available almost anywhere I go - my mobile phones are not on ATT so in the event one or the other carrier is 'weak' in an area, I have a decent shot that the other carrier will have coverage.

 

[g00fy]

Back in 2011 when I moved into my house a friend of mine moved in as a roommate and his wifi SSID was FBI surveillance Van. I kinda just kept it over the years for the sake of convenience with all my devices already having the credentials for it.

Just a couple months, ago with the latest 39.x update WiFi hotspot finally started working, and I seem to get it for free on my UC4, not sure why. But as you can guess, again for the sake of convenience, I kept the same SSID and password. I got a good chuckle at the thought of my SSID popping up in random people's devices as I drove around town.

Since I started running the running the uc5 though, I lost my free wifi hotspot.

 

[Darmichar]

$20/month unlimited data is pretty cheap. I keep my mobile plans pretty minimal with data plan, so having the truck wifi is by far cheaper then multiple phones with high data plans. so now my daughter can connect to truck wifi for whatever the heck she is doing on her phone, i can stream music from amazon off my phone, and my wife can stream netflix on her phone all connected. for $20 a month it is a way better deal than having 3 mobile high data plans. And while it's not great/perfect - none are - ATT is pretty much available almost anywhere I go - my mobile phones are not on ATT so in the event one or the other carrier is 'weak' in an area, I have a decent shot that the other carrier will have coverage.

This. When we travel the wifi is nice to have so the kid can do her thing in the back seat on her iPad and I can stream music without pillaging the data plan on the phones. $20/month in the truck is far cheaper than unlimited data on all the phones.